It is very common to hear about digital sound. This wave of digital sound comes from the late 1970s, when digital media began to appear on the market, further solidifying with the arrival of CD in 1983. Leading brands would begin to announce digital sound as the great revolution in Sound. Recently, however, many have decided to go back to vinyl or even analog cassette tapes and claim that the sound of analog media is superior to that of digital media. But who is right?
First, let’s establish that, when we talk about digital sound versus analog sound, we are mainly talking about the media where that sound is stored and the encoding used in those media. With that, we can start by classifying them by saying the following:
Analog sound is all that sound placed in uninterrupted media, creating a change in the media that is analogous to the phenomenon of sound. In the case of vinyl, a groove similar to the electrical signal generated in the microphone is created. In the case of magnetic tape, there is a change in the magnetic field analogous to the electrical signal generated at the microphone.
Digital sound is all that sound placed on media encoded in binary code. This encoding transforms the microphone signal into a digital code that follows various parameters, such as the Nyquist theorem, sample rate, bit depth, bit rate, interpolation, etc. In future publications, we will study each of these characteristics. Examples of digital media are: CD, SD memory cards, SSD, HDD, DAT … In short, everything that can store a digital code.
Some authors argue that all sound is analog. However, according to the previous definition we will establish that the sound, in itself, is natural. Each natural sound that reaches the microphone becomes analog by generating an electrical signal. And each microphone will start as analog. There are some digital microphones, but these are nothing more than microphones that have an analog / digital converter in their structure, making the sound emitted digital. In addition, all speakers also output analog sound only, since even if the source is digital, it will be necessary to perform a digital / analog conversion in any situation.
That is, the sound has to be analog at any given moment in the capture / playback chain, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be digital. That’s why many argue that analog sound is “pure” and, according to some people, “better”. However, there are several advantages to digital media. For example, digital media is more accurate, has a better differentiation between channels, is more compact and cheaper.
In productive terms, digital media outperforms analog media in several ways. Therefore, it is quite rare today to find analog sound in film and music. The logistical approach between analog and digital is different and many artists maintain that the use of analog media directly influences creation, since many feel that in analog there is a greater intimacy between the artist and the physical phenomenon. But in general, we can associate this intimacy only with the subjective factor. Analog is more expensive and offers a result that can be copied to digital.
On the other hand, there is a good advantage for analog media: durability. In general, vinyl and tape, if well maintained, have greater durability than CDs, DVDs, or HDDs. Until now, we still do not have a digital medium that has proven to be resistant to time (with the exception, perhaps, of DAT). Also, the way the viewer relates to the media is very important. In this case, the imperfections of analog media can make it more intimate and the precision of digital media can make it cold and impersonal. It goes for each one.
The most important topic of discussion on this topic in the world of audiophilia is related to CDs vs. Vinyls, a point that we will address in greater depth in some future publications. But for now, this is what we have about digital sound versus analog sound.
